that does it for us. thanks very much for watching. i'll be on later this morning from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. also again i'll be on later this evening. "early start" begins right now. back on the streets of boston. boylston street, which has been closed since the day of the marathon attack, is back open for business this morning. what else have we learned about the bombers? were they do it yourself workers, or did they have help from overseas? a fresh report today. plus a stunning twist in the ricin letters investigation. the man thought to be behind them now out of jail and talking. >> you never heard of ricin or whatever. i thought they said rice. so i said i don't even eat rice.

>> good morning to you. and welcome to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin in new york. >> and i'm john berman live in boston this morning. it is wednesday, april 24th. it is 5:00 a.m. in the east. while you were sleeping, the proud, resilient people of this uniquely american city began taking back boylston street. boylston street is reopening this morning. i just went for a walk on it. meanwhile, there are new developments with the suspected terrorist who is charged with shutting it down with a pair of bombs on marathon monday. here is the latest. dzhokhar tsarnaev's condition upgraded from serious to fair this morning. there are reports he could be transported out of beth israel deaconess medical center soon. a news official tells cnn's jessica yellin there is no hard evidence the tsarnaev brothers had any accomplices or any connections to extremists. there is another new development this morning.

a delegation from the u.s. embassy in moscow is in dagestan this morning attempting to interview the parents off tamerlan and dzhokhar tsarnaev with cooperation from the russian government. >> reporter: good morning. it is a historic moment for boylston street over at the corner of boylston and dartmouth. they're just getting the streets reopened here. a little confusion about how this is rolling out this morning, but as the day gets going, you're going to see a lot more people on the street. we just shot some very sensitive video. folks are very, very sensitive about opening this street, even running live shots down boylston street? the video shows them repairing one of the sites of the bombings. they're replacing the bricks and the cement. they're replacing windows blasted out. there is now a boston strong

message. all of this as we are learning more about the plot and the aftermath. new pictures of the confrontation ben the tsarnaev brothers and police in watertown. in one of them, taken by witness andrew kitzenberg, you see the brothers firing at officers. hours later, the final standoff between authorities and the younger brother, dzhokhar, when david henberry climbed up a ladder to look inside his normally shrink wrapped boat. first he saw blood inside of it, then a body. >> my eyes went to the other side of the engine box. the engine box is in the middle. >> reporter: there was a body. tsarnaev already bleeding before the final shootout and surrender. the city on high alert, henberry knew it might just be the man police are looking for. and we're learning more about what we believe dzhokhar tsarnaev is telling investigators, that the wars in iraq and afghanistan motivated

the plot. his claims, there was no outside encouragement, radicalization or communication, that he and his brother tamerlan were fueled by online jihadist videos. and investigators say he may have consulted al qaeda's english magazine "inspire" for help on building their bombs. investigators also taking a look at an unsolved triple murder from 2011 to determine if tamerlan tsarnaev had anything to do with it. one of the vibllingts, a friend and sparring partner of tamerlan, brandon mess. he was found dead, along with two others, all with their throats cut. such horrible details as boston continues to recover, and the victims of the attacks are laid to rest. two private ceremonies tuesday for 26-year-old m.i.t. police officer sean collier and for the youngest victim 8-year-old martin richard. now, one other bit to update you

on at the hospital. mr. tsarnaev is being held at the moment at beth israel. it is possible he will be moved from the hospital because family, friends of the victims who are also being cared for at that hospital, are expressing concern they're in the same place. officials say, as soon as he is better, they will likely move him to another facility. john? >> thanks so much, miguel. just like miguel, i walked by the site of the first bomb blast, where they're filling in the sidewalks. in addition to workers resurfacing the roadway, there are a collection of flowers there now. officials in moscow now headed into dagestan arriving there to interview the parents of tamerlan and dzhokhar tsarnaev. >> reporter: the embassy from moscow has confirmed they sent a team there late yesterday. we understand from our team in

dagestan they could right now be interviewing the parents of the two bombing suspects in a building belonging to the fsd, the russian internal security service. the fsb say they're doing this with the cooperation of authorities, or helping them with their investigation. this is the first chance the authorities have to talk to the parents and have them key questions, in particular, what was their son, tamerlan tsarnaev, up to when he visited them in dagestan the first half of 2012. we know he was there for six months. there's some suspicion it was during his time there he could have met people or been exposed to people that in some way could have increased his radicalization and led to the events in boston. it is also a chance for the parents themselves to talk to u.s. authorities about what they believe happened. they've been telling us for several days now they do not believe their sons could have been capable of doing this. they believe they are innocent, and they believe they have been framed by u.s. authorities. >> and they are doing that with the cooperation of the russians,

u.s.-russian cooperation will be so key in this investigation. phil black in moscow for us. thank you so much. so we know now that authorities in russia contacted the fbi back in 2011, warning the u.s. they believed tamerlan tsarnaev had been radicalized. the question, why wasn't he watched more closely? could the boston bombings have been prevented all together? cnn's joe johns has that story. >> reporter: tamerlan tsarnaev first hit the fbi's radar in 2011, when the russian government told the agency they should check him out. >> the russian fsb sent a letter to the fbi and other agencies we think this guy has become radical. you need to watch him. >> reporter: the request from russia was based on the information that he was a follower of radical islam and a strong believer, and that he had changed drastically since 2010 as he prepared to leave the united states for travel to the

country's region for unspecified underground groups." the fbi says it checks databases, telephone communications, online activity. it also actually interviewed tamerlan tsarnaev and family members, but the fbi says it did not find any terrorism activity. so it fwaf that information to russia and asked for, but did not receive, more specific additional info. case closed. >> because additional information didn't come in, the fbi says, for our purposes under our system, with all the records and investigation we're allowed to do here, it hasn't risen to the level to warrant further investigation or full-time surveillance. >> reporter: a federal law enforcement official agrees and says tamerlan was not on a terror watch list or any no fly list because the u.s. never deemed him a threat. so there were no alarm bells when tsarnaev came back to the u.s. six months later. >> by the time he returned, all investigations, the matter had

been closed. >> reporter: even so, it's not clear if the department of homeland security, which was charged with monitoring travel, even knew that tsarnaev was on the fbi's radar. feds failing to talk to each other was supposed to be a lesson learned from 9/11. >> we're trying to make sure that all of that information that was available was shared. if it wasn't, there may be somebody who dropped the ball. >> reporter: a u.s. official says, even when there's a hit in the system, it doesn't prompt anyone in law enforcement to take action. it's just monitoring for suspicious travel. joe johns, cnn, washington. >> our thanks to joe johns for that report. later today, another memorial here in boston for yet another of the victims in these attacks. at noon vice president joe biden will attend a service for sean collier. he's the m.i.t. officer killed during the manhunt for the suspects. later this afternoon, the house intelligence committee will receive a full briefing on the terror attack. again, that this afternoon in

washington. coming up later this hour, we'll talk to democratic congressman ben bennie thompson in mississippi. he was briefed by the fbi on the boston terror attack. we'll see what he has to say. meanwhile, we'll go back to zoraida for more news. a story developing while you were sleeping in bangladesh. an eight-story commercial building collapsing in the capital city of dhaka. at least 70 people killed and hundreds more injured. rescue workers are digging through the rubble. just devastating. and the mystery surrounding who sent ricin tainted letters to president obama and two other officials is deepening this morning after charges were dropped against one-time suspect paul kevin curtis. the u.s. attorney handling the case says there is new information now, but are they any closer to finding who did send the poison? cnn's victor blackwell is

following all these new developments for us. >> reporter: kevin curtis calls this whole thing a nightmare. now he wants to get back to his family, his dog, his normal life. he was released on a bond of $25,000 on tuesday, but now the charges have been dropped in connection with these ricin laced letters to president obama. mississippi senator roger whittaker, and sady holland, a judge here in tupelo. law enforcement, they're not saying much about their investigation of the letters or of curtis, but curtis has said from the very beginning that he was not involved. in fact, when they came to him with questions about ricin, he didn't know what ricin was. he says he thought they said rice, and he doesn't even eat rice. >> when you've been charged with something and you just never heard of ricin or whatever. i thought they said rice. so i said, i don't even eat rice. >> reporter: curtis seems to harbor no ill will against the law enforcement officials. he said the investigators treated him well and were very professional. but if he did not send the letters, who did?

we know there are media reports that another home is being searched in connection with this case. back to you. >> our thanks to victor blackwell. coming up, more of our live coverage from boston. authorities questioning tamerlan tsarnaev's widow. did she know of his plans to blow up the boston marathon? he g through allergies. try zyrtec®. powerful allergy relief for adults and kids six years and older. zyrtec®. love the air.

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surviving suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev's condition is improving, and he could soon be moved from the beth israel deaconess medical center. and we also learned the russian government is cooperating with the u.s. government in dagestan as they interview the parents of tamerlan and dzhokhar tsarnaev. meanwhile, the widow of tamerlan tsarnaev is doing everything she can to assist with the investigation. that's a statement issued through katherine russell's lawyer. the fbi wants to talk with her about her husband, but it appears so far they've only been talking with her lawyers. more this morning from the russells' home in kingston, rhode island. >> reporter: tamerlan tsarnaev's widow hustled out of her parents home on tuesday. authorities want her help as they piece together the bomber's plan. >> the reports of involvement by her husband and brother-in-law came as an absolute shock to them all.

>> reporter: her turn says katherine russell lived with tamerlan in a cramped cambridge apartment as authorities try to determine when and where he may have assembled the bombs, investigators want to find out what, if anything, she knows. >> she is doing everything she can to assist in the ongoing investigation. >> reporter: russell's attorneys say she didn't know anything. they say she last saw tamerlan before she went to work thursday before the fbi released this video. they say she worked as a home health aid while tamerlan stayed home with the couple's young daughter. >> very outgoing, very friendly, very smart, and very talented. >> reporter: that's the katie russell amos remembers. her high school art teacher says she talked a lot about earning her college degree. are you surprised how her life's turned out so far? >> i was surprised to find out she had dropped out, and i hadn't seen any indication of a particular interest in a lot of religion. >> reporter: russell was raised christian in suburban providence.

she moved to boston for college, met tamerlan, and dropped out. attorneys say she converted to islam and was an observant muslim who wore the hajab, or head scarf. sources say katie russell didn't speak russian and didn't always understand everything that was being said around the apartment. her attorneys have been speaking with federal investigators on her behalf, but they won't say whether she has spoken to authorities and investigators directly. chris lawrence, cnn, north kingstown, rhode island. >> our thanks to chris. so russell's attorneys say that she and her family are struggling to come to terms with the boston marathon bombings and the events that led to her husband's death. they say the injuries and loss of life in the marathon have caused what they say is profound distress and sorrow to russell and her family. a multimillion dollar settlement for two women injured during the manhunt for ex-cop

christopher dorner back in february. the city of los angeles has agreed to play margie and her mother $2.4 million. they were delivering newspapers when the lapd mistakenly fired on them in their truck. hernandez was shot twice in the back. caranza was hit by broken glass. both have since recovered. and a homeowner in san bernardino, california, has been forced out because of a landslide. a broken water main beneath the house saturated the hillside, causing the dirt to slide down to the bottom of the hill. the slide under the home's patio is 40 feet wide, 10 feet deep. that now leads that home in danger of collapsing. america's sweetheart caught being not so sweet on this atlanta police camera. this is new video of actress reese witherspoon after she was arrested friday for disorderly conduct. it happened after her husband james was charged with dui.

the 37-year-old allegedly shouted at the officer, do you know who i am? witherspoon says she is deeply embarrassed and has nothing but respect for police. and a hacker hits twitter and moves the stock market. more on the tweet and the retreat coming up. what if you could shrink your pores just by washing your face? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® pore refining cleanser. alpha-hydroxy and exfoliating beads work to clean and tighten pores so they can look half their size. pores...shrink 'em down to size! [ female announcer ] pore refining cleanser. neutrogena.®

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this morning. twitter almost ruins a rally. unbelievable, the power of twitter. >> and the power of the market, how quickly it responded. you might remember the flash crash in 2010. it was 700 points. the market just fell for no reason. something happened yesterday that wasn't as big but also as con founding, and it already has a fun name. some calling it the tweet retreat. the associated press says its twitter feed was hacked, and it posted a tweet there was an explosion near the white house. i'm not going to show you that tweet again in part because i don't want to freak anybody out. that happened at 1:07 p.m. eastern time. until that moment, until that tweet, the dow was riding a nice value. look at the drop. the slide was 145 points in just a couple of minutes because of that ap tweet. the associated press quickly tweeted its account was hacked. then the dow recovered and closed up 152 points. this is a really interesting new risk of social media in the markets, and it raises questions obviously about twitter's cyber security. also, just how quickly the

market can react to something like that. >> how closely they monitor twitter as well, the twitter feed. i was really surprised by that. >> markets move on just anything. they move very quick lichlt there was concern last week about the boston bombings. they're concerned -- terrorism is something that can cause uncertainty in the market and cause investors to get a little panicky, and that's exactly what happened. i was telling you about apple, how apple is going to be the big, big story. apple's numbers are out. it needed to do something big in the earnings report. why? the stock is down 30% over the year. shareholders asking if apple's magic is fading. apple's response? it's going to reach in and give money back to shareholders. apple will give you a 2.7% return for holding apple shares. it's not as big as other stocks. it's called a dividend yield. intel 3.9%. at&t, 4.6%. altria, 5% of the dividend yield. it's way more than you get in a

savings account. apple shareholders need good news. the stock down 30% the past year. apple shares up slightly in the premarket. its profits slipped a little bit, but it's still selling a lot of devices, 37.4 million iphones during three months. that averages out to 288 iphones every single minute for three months straight. apple sold 20 million ipads. but people aren't buying as many of the latest, most expensive models. they're choosing the cheaper versions like the iphone 4s, the ipad mini, and that's one reason why the stock is down because they make more money on the higher end, newer products. absolutely. >> most people who do buy apple, they have to have the latest and greatest. i guess the frietrend is kind o changing. >> people are strapped, and they're a little more frugal. that stock is up in the premark premarket. i'll watch it for you this morning. coming up, how these veterans from iraq and afghanistan are bringing much,

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boston taking back its streets. boylston street, where the bomb exploded nearly a week ago, is now reopen. and investigators trying to learn more from the bombers' mother and father. that's happening at this very hour. plus new developments today in the alleged plot to blow up a train out of new york. a second suspect due in court

just hours from now. welcome back to "early start." happy to have you with us this morning. zoraida sambolin in new york. john, we're missing you here. >> i miss you. someday we'll be together, zoraida. >> looking forward to that. >> i'm john berman live in boston by myself this morning, missing zoraida. it is wednesday, april 24th, about half past the hour right now. we do have news this morning. a proud milestone for this city. boylston street is open for business again. that, of course, is the site where the marathon finish line was where the bombs went off. workers really on the scene late into the night, trying to repair the area, repair the surface where that bomb went off. it will be open -- it is already open, in fact, in the public this morning. i had a chance to take a quick walk on boylston a little bit earlier. this is the site of the first explosion. the first bomb went off right here at 2:50 p.m. on marathon monday. they're filling it in right now. so it's all closed off before the streets really open to the

public this morning. let me show you something. look at this building, marathon sports. the fourth floor, all the way up to the fourth floor here, they have windows boarded up. those were shattered by the force of the blast. it was interesting to see them out working all night to resurface those streets. also new this morning, we've learned that dzhokhar tsarnaev's condition has been upgraded from serious. he is now in fair condition. he could be moved out of beth israel deaconess medical center and be moved to another facility. we also learned an fbi delegation has arrived in dagestan. they're attempting to interview the parents of tamerlan and dzhokhar tsarnaev, all of this with russian cooperation. cnn's miguel marquez is live in boston, not far from boylston street. miguel, what are you seeing this morning? >> reporter: we are very close to you on boylston.

before we get to the investigation, this is where we are. this is dartmouth and boylston street. this is the memorial that was so painfully removed from boylston. we're about a block from the finish of the boston marathon. down the street that's boylston, that is really sort of struggling to get back open. the bombings, they're being very, very sensitive about allowing access and live shots on boylston at the moment. we're trying to stay back and be cool about it. on the investigation, though, we understand that in further talks with mr. tsarnaev and investigators, he is telling us the main motivation is the wars in iraq and afghanistan. they are self-motivated, watching videos by anwar al awlaki, among others. he's the radical cleric the u.s. killed in a drone strike in yemen about 18 months ago. they also said it may be the case they used "inspire" magazine, the al qaeda in the arabian peninsula, the yemenese

satellite of al qaeda, in order to make those bombs, those very powerful bombs they're cleaning up after here today in boston. there are slivers of information coming out of there. it is difficult for investigators or for anybody to believe what he's saying because, obviously, he's facing a possible death sentence or death penalty in this case, and he also has very little reason to tell the truth at the moment. it does seem he is talking. one other bit about the hospital. families whose friends and victims are being cared for at that hospital at beth israel upset that he is there. he may be moved out, state hospital officials, as soon as he is well enough to move. and that may come in the next days or weeks. john? >> miguel marquez, not far from us right now on boylston street, which, again, is back open for business this morning. thanks so much, miguel. in new developments this morning, we are learning that tamerlan tsarnaev bought fireworks from a new hampshire dealer back in february. the clerk on duty said he

seemed -- nothing about him seemed suspicious. she remembered him for one reason only. >> pretty much the only thing that was remarkable about him was that he had a russian accent, which we don't get too many people in here who have russian accents. >> tsarnaev bought two lock and loads, large reloadable mortar kits that contain a reloading tube and several shells. if he was trying to break down the product to get all the black powder, he would not have been able to get much out of it. after the marathon bombing, the company alerted the fbi that tsarnaev had been in the store. veterans who lost their limbs fighting in iraq and afghanistan are offering hope to the victims of the boston marathon terror attack. celeste corcoran lost both her legs when the bomb exploded. veteran sergeant gabe ramirez is also a double amputee. he paid her and her daughter sydney a visit with words of wisdom.

>> this is basically the start. this is a new beginning for both of you. >> i can't see any hope right now. >> yes, right now. i'm telling you, with all my heart, you are going to be more independent than you ever were. >> celeste is keeping her spirits high. she's even talking about running the boston marathon next year. if you want to find out how you can help the survivors of the boston aks at that, you can go to our website at cnn.com/impact. we always have direct links and ways we can help, including several victims' personal fund pages that you can donate to. zoraida? >> i think it's remarkable how many of them said they look forward to running in the future or running that particular marathon. i guess it's a way of healing for them, right? >> that's right. as everyone says, 118th boston marathon next year will be the greatest ever. >> yes, indeed. thank you, john. meantime in canada, new developments this morning in the alleged terrorist plot to attack a passenger train running

between new york and toronto. canadian authorities say al qaeda is behind that plot. two suspects are being held without bail at this hour. one is due in court in just a few hours from now. his alleged accomplice had his hearing yesterday. cnn's ted rowlands is covering the story live in toronto for us. what's the latest, ted? >> reporter: chiba esseghaier will be in court today. his family stood by in support. the mother and other family members of suspected terrorist raed jaser had no comment leaving a downtown toronto courthouse tuesday. jaser remains in custody for allegedly plotting an al qaeda supported train attack with this man, 34-year-old chiheb esseghaier. according to u.s. government sources, the suspected terrorists were not plaing to use explosives to derail a new york to toronto passenger train.

raed jaser's attorney says they will question the timing of the arrest. >> there is no concern for public safety. it's surprising to see this arrest would be made now close on the heels of the events in boston. >> reporter: investigators say boston had nothing to do with these arrests. instead, they were a culmination of months of surveillance. >> we do have our idiots in the community. >> reporter: muhammad robert heft says he's worked as a liaison between the government and the community for decades. he believes the government likely has a case, and he believes a local imam's tip sparked an investigation. >> are you going to let them, god forbid, let them do something that happened in boston? or are you going to be the first line of defense, like we as leaders are, and call it in to the proper authorities? >> reporter: yesterday canadian authorities stood by the accusation that these two suspects were getting support from al qaeda elements out of iran. there was considerable blowback out of tehran yesterday, saying

there was no way that could be happening, but canadian authorities are sticking to their guns saying, absolutely, that's what they believe transpired here. >> ted rowlands, appreciate having you there monitoring these latest develop themenment us. coming up, a texas man witnesses tragedy twice over. first the boston terror attacks. then days later this earth rattling fertilizer plant explosion in west, texas. what he told us about narrowly escape both of them. s my laundry for me so i don't have to think. wait. what was the question? [ male announcer ] how do you get your bounce? [ man ] stick it and forget it. and be good for your face? [ female announcer ] now there's new neutrogena® naturals acne cleanser. acne medicine from the wintergreen leaf treats breakouts. no parabens or harsh sulfates. for naturally clear skin. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® naturals. but with advair, i'm breathing better.

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[ explosion ] >> two days later, simply unbelievable. he witnessed the catastrophic fertilizer plant explosion in west, texas. gary tuckman has the harrowing story. >> reporter: joe and amy berte look at the events in boston and west, texas, from a different vantage point in others, so unique it's hard to contemplate. they also look back with a deep sense of gratitude. >> we're just blessed we're both okay and we're able to be talking to you today. >> reporter: joe's story begins in boston. the austin, texas resident was running the marathon for a charity called champions for children. this picture was taken at the finish line. just seconds after he crossed -- [ explosion ] >> amy was ten feet from the first explosion. >> reporter: his wife amy was so

very close but not injured. >> that doesn't seem to make any sense when the person standing beside me in boston was so maimed. >> reporter: meanwhile, amy had no idea where her husband was and grew panickeded when she couldn't reach him on his cell. >> for an hour, it was the worst hour of my life. i didn't know if he was dead or alive. >> reporter: army went back to their hotel. >> all the way up the elevator, i thought, just let him be there when i get there. i opened up the door to the hotel room, and there he was. >> reporter: tell me what it was like when you saw her. >> it was incredible. we were both very happy when we found each other. the not knowing was the worst thing and not getting any response. >> reporter: joe and amy flew back to texas on tuesday to reunite with their children. on the next day, wednesday, joe had a business trip. he drove from austin to dallas. after a few hours, he started heading back home. to get back to austin, you have to drive on the interstate through this town, the town of west, texas. joe was minutes away from the

west fertilizer plant when he was stunned to see huge plumes of smoke. he pulled his car over. >> right out of the middle of the black smoke came a giant explosion. so i saw a fireball, and then i saw a giant cloud of smoke. it was just so big, and it was so loud. it shook my car when i was driving. i was worried about stuff falling out of the sky. i kept looking up, and i heard something hit the top of my car. i quickly jumped out and took a picture. >> you must be thinking to yourself, i just went through this in boston. >> my first thought was i can't believe this. what is it? is it another terrorist attack? is it a bomb? what is this explosion? it was so massive. >> reporter: how old are you? >> 43. >> reporter: in 43 years, have you never been near a bomb or an explosion before? >> no. >> reporter: and then it happens twice in three days? >> yeah. >> reporter: joe got back in his car, and in a jittery voice called his wife amy back home. i said, you'll never believe

this, but i've seen another explosion, and i'm starting to describe it to her, and her first reaction was just get home. get home as quick as you can. >> reporter: and that joe did, returning home to a wife and children who want him to stick around for a while. gary tuckman, cnn, austin, texas. >> just get home. he's not going away for a long, long time. wow. imagine being both places. >> it makes you kind of take a step back and kind of ask big questions, right? about why you witnessed things like that twice. and you worry about things coming in threes, at least i do. my superstitious nature this morning. >> a good time to stay home with your family. >> no kidding. i agree. 46 past the hour. swollen rivers and deadly flooding has parts of several midwestern states still in danger this morning. they considered all her assets, even those held elsewhere, giving her the confidence to pursue all her goals.

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welcome back, everyone. i'm john berman live in boston this morning. the surviving suspect in the bombings is on the mend. dzhokhar tsarnaev has been upgraded from fair to serious condition, recovering from gunshot wounds to the head, neck, legs, and hand. he could be moved from the beth israel deaconess medical center to another facility. meanwhile, a milestone for bostonians and a good one. boylston street back open for business this morning. all of this happening while a delegation from the u.s. embassy in moscow is in dagestan attempting to interview the parents of tamerlan and dzhokhar tsarnaev. they're doing this with the cooperation today of the russian government. zoraida? happening right now, more rain has made a bad situation in the nation's midsection much worse. swollen rivers are already to

blame for fourth deaths. governor jay nixon declaring a state of emergency after rain drenched that street. jim, how bad is it, and the big question, is it expected to get worse? >> reporter: just take a look leer, zoraida. this is sort of a boat terminal. usually this is dry land, and there's a road here between where i'm standing and the terminal. the mississippi river has come out of its banks here. to give you a little context, right now the river is at 35 feet. they believe that's how high it's going to get. it will crest later today. flood stage is 30 feet. normal is 15 feet. last year during the drought, it was as low as 3 feet. what an incredible shift, a change from last year to now during this flooding. we believe that things are going to start getting slowly better down here in the st. louis area. up in fargo, north dakota, they're just getting ready. this spring's storms, spring rain is accelerating the melt of

the snow. they're bringing in sand bags and getting ready to get started up there. it's had a serious toll. we know that four people are dead and one woman is missing from this flooding, zoraida. >> what can you tell us about the search for that missing woman? i believe she's from peru. illinois, that is. >> reporter: illinois. she is 62 years old. her name is nancy greening. last friday officials were out in a plane surveying flooding and taking photographs. they spotted a woman next to a white van in a flooded out road completely surrounded by water. they couldn't land there to try to help her. when they went out to try to look for her, they couldn't find her. they posted this picture on facebook, saying, does anyone know who this woman is? people connected her with a missing woman, nancy greening, in peru, and the search is on. now they've had to suspend the search because the conditions are too dangerous to be out there. as soon as they are, they're going to try to find her. the circumstances did not look good for this missing woman,

zoraida. >> how horrible for her family as they stand by waiting. jim spellman, thank you very much. more rain is expected in the midwest. it could speed up the melting of snow, making the rivers rise even faster. jennifer delgado has more from the cnn weather center in atlanta. where is the worst of all of this expected to head next? >> right now we're actually foe using on missouri as well as in illinois. you can see all the areas dealing withed flooing as it shows up in green. what's going to be happening -- i know jim is live in st. louis, but as we go down the river, across the mississippi river, we're going to see more flooding. for areas like cape gerard, they're expecting their river to peak 10 feet above flood stage. mississippi river at moderate flood stage. illinois river and peoria at major flood stage. it means it's going to be slower for some of these rivers to actually recede.

as we look out there, still some rain for areas like indianapolis into st. louis. you can see for parts of southern illinois, showers and thunderstorms out there. they'll be moving over towards the east as we go through the next couple of hours. the problem is we're also going to be looking at a cooldown. that's going to be pulling that cold air down towards the south. as we go through today, tomorrow, that frontal system fizzles out, and then high temperatures today are going to be running roughly about 15 to 20 degrees below average. i want to point out to you from the dakotas right now. we're expecting highs in the 40s. as we head into friday as well as into saturday, high temperatures running into the upper 70s. that is going to lead to rapid snow melt. that is going to lead to more flooding concerns as we go into the weekend for areas up towards the north. >> a big mess for them. jennifer delgado, thank you very much. still ahead, he tried once and failed. now an openly gay kicker is determined to get another shot at an nfl job and a place in history.

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welcome back to "early start." 58 minutes past the hour. trending online this morning, he has been openly gay since high school. now 23-year-old allen, a former star kicker at tennessee state, wants to be drafted. that story did not happen to him. gendreau just talked to "out sports" magazine and said, he knows the nfl is a long shot. he's currently a free agent and will have to wait until this

year's nfl draft to see about getting a tryout. good luck to him. "early start" continues right now. back on boylston street. the city of boston marking a major milestone in its recovery just a short time ago. so were the boston bombing suspects do it yourself terrorists? the latest this morning on how they might have pulled this all off, also why. and a stunning twist in the ricin letters investigation. the man thought to be behind them now out of jail and talking. >> you've never heard of ricin or whatever. i thought they said rice. so i said, i don't even eat rice. >> good morning. welcome to "early start." glad you're with us. i'm zoraida sambolin in new york. >> and i'm john berman live in boston this morning. it is april 24th, and it is 6:00 a.m. in the east. it is a proud milestone for boston this morning. boylston street is back in business.

that is the street right behind me right now. it is the site of the boston marathon bombings, and it is open to the public today, nine days after the terror attacks that, in some ways, are also ne this morning with the suspected bomber who was charged with shutting that street and this city down. here is the latest. dzhokhar tsarnaev's condition has been upgraded from serious to fair this morning. we're hearing he could soon be transferred out of beth israel deaconess medical center to another facility. and as for the terror investigation, a u.s. official tells cnn's jessica yellin there is no hard evidence that the tsarnaev brothers had any accomplices or any connections to extremists. in this new development which is unfolding right now, a delegation from the u.s. embassy in moscow is arriving in dagestan to attempt to interview the parents of the tsarnaev brothers. they're doing that with the cooperation of the russian government. the u.s. wars in iraq and afghanistan, maybe they were the motivation behind the bombings,

according to the surviving suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev. and we're now hearing from the watertown man who discovered tsarnaev hiding in his boat in his backyard. cnn's miguel marquez is here in boston on boylston street. again, which is open for business this morning. miguel? >> john, we are actually at the memorial that was so painstakingly moved and stuck here in copley skwak from other parts of boylston street. and this down here, we're at dartmouth and boylston. you can see traffic flowing up boylston for the first time in nine days. right down the way where you see those flashing lights, that's the finish line of the race. right beyond that is where the bombing sites are. we have some video, and you know police, bostonians being very sensitive about shooting this, about even going live from boylston this morning. the video shows them repairing the sidewalk, getting rid of all aspects, and reminder of what happened there on the store window that was blown out, it just says boston strong.

all this as we are learning more about the plot, and its aftermath. new pictures of the confrontation between the tsarnaev brothers and police in watertown. in one of them, taken by witness andrew kitzenberg we see the brothers firing at officers. hours later -- the final standoff between authorities and the younger brother, dzhokhar when david henneberry climbed up a ladder to look inside his normally singh wrapped boat. first he saw blood inside of it, then a body. >> my eyes went to the other side of the engine box. the engine box is in the middle -- there's a body. >> reporter: dzhokhar tsarnaev already bleeding before the final shoot-out and surrender. the city on high alert, and henneberry knew he just might be the man police were looking for. and we are learning more, if it can be believed, about what dzhokhar tsarnaev is telling investigators, that the wars in

iraq and afghanistan motivated the plot. his claim, there was no outside encouragement, radicalization, or communication that he and his older brother tamerlan were fueled by online jihadist videos. and investigators say he may have consulted al qaeda's english magazine in fire for help in building their bombs. investigators also taking a look at an unsolved triple murder from 2011 to determine if tamerlan tsarnaev had anything to do with it. one of the victims a friend and sparring partner of tamerlan was found dead along with two others, all had their throat cut. such horrible details, as boston continues to recover, and the victims of the attacks are laid to rest. two private ceremonies tuesday for 26-year-old m.i.t. police officer sean collier, for the youngest victim, 8-year-old martin richard. we also understand that dzhokhar

tsarnaev is obviously getting better at the hospital, and authorities there say that once he does get well enough they will likely move him, because of complaints from friends, and family members of the victims who are also being cared for at beth israel. that could happen in the next few days or a week. john? >> all right, miguel marquez joining us this morning again from an open for business boylston street. i should say, i took a walk down boylston street a little while ago and i already saw flowers at the site of that first bomb blast. thanks so much, miguel. as we mentioned delegates from the u.s. embassy in moscow are looking for answers in dagestan right now. they're there to interview the parents of tamerlan and gentleman sar tsarnaev a mission that we're told is getting the full cooperation from the russian government. cnn's phil black live in moscow with the details. >> good morning, john. the u.s. embassy sent a team to dagestan yesterday. we understand from our cnn team on the ground in dagestan they

are right now currently interviewing the parents of the two bombing suspects. and u.s. officials here in moscow are key to stress this is taking place with the cooperation of the russian government. crucially this is the first opportunity u.s. officials have had to question the suspects' parents and ask them some pretty important questions, specifically what did their eldest son, tamerlan tsarnaev, get up to when he visited them here in dagestan in the first six months of last year. where did he go? who did he meet? what was he exposed to? because one theory that is being investigated is the possibility that his experiences in dagestan in some way led to his further radicalization, and ultimately the events in boston. it's also the first chance for the bomb suspects' parents to tell u.s. officials what they think, and they've been maintaining for some days now they don't think their children were capable of this. john? >> phil, as you said, one of the keys here is this is happening with the full cooperation of the russian government. cooperation between the russian and u.s. intelligence services

will be key to piece this all together. phil black in moscow, thanks so much. here later today, a memorial service for another one of the victims, at noon vice president joe biden will attend a service for sean collier. he is the m.i.t. officer killed during the manhunt for the suspects. meanwhile later this afternoon, the house intelligence committee will receive a full briefing on the terror attacks. in our next half hour we'll talk to democratic congressman benny thompson of mississippi. he was briefed by the fbi on the boston terror attack. we'll find out what he has to say. zoraida? >> thank you, john. six minutes past the hour. a story developing while you were sleeping in bangladesh. an eight story commercial building collapsing on the outskirts of the capital city of dhaka. local reports say at least 70 people have been killed. hundreds more are injured. rescue workers are now digging through the rubble, as you can see there. they are trying to find survivors who may still be trapped underneath all the rubble. and the mystery surrounding

who sent ricin tainted letters to president obama and two other officials deepens now, after charges are dropped against one-time suspect paul kevin curtis. the u.s. attorney handling the case says new information has come to light now. but are investigators now any closer to finding who actually sent the poison? cnn's victor blackwell is following all of these new developments for us. that is a big question. who did it, then? >> that is the question now. if paul kevin curtis did not send those letters, who did? and the u.s. attorney, felicia adams, is not giving any details about this new information. the fbi is not saying much about their investigation into curtis, or into the letters that were sent to the president, and roger wicker, the senator from mississippi, and katie holland a judge here in tupelo. but curtis has said from the beginning that he was not involved. he said that he would never do anything to hurt the president. he loves his country, and this is not something that he would even consider. here's what he said about the

moments after the allegations were made up until he was cleared. >> the last seven days, staring at four gray walls like green green grass of home, not really knowing what's happening, not having a clue why i'm there, just being in a state of overwhelm is the best way i can describe it. when you've been charged with something, and you just -- you've never heard of ricin or whatever. i thought they said race so i said i don't even eat rice. >> well, in this case, his attorney says that he was possibly framed by someone else. he also says kevin curtis, says that he's been having a grudge with someone over years. now law enforcement in this case, according to curtis and his attorney, they were completely professional. he has no ill will against them. and again the question you asked at the top, zoraida, if kevin curtis did not send them, who did? we can tell you this, that there is -- there are, rather, media

reports here that another home is being searched in connection with this case. of course, we'll stay on top of all of this. zoraida? >> you had mentioned earlier that somebody had ill will toward him. do we know if that person is involved here at all? or we just don't know? >> well, we don't know on the record, we're asking a lot of questions about if there is some connection. so we're waiting to get more information on that. hopefully by sunrise when this building behind me opens up we can get some answers to those questions. >> victor blackwell reporting live. thank you very much. coming up more of our live coverage from boston. john berman is there. authorities now questioning tamerlan tsarnaev's widow. did she know about her husband's plan to blow up the boston marathon? oh, hi thehey!ill. are you in town for another meeting? yup, i brought my a-team. business trips add up to family time. this is my family. this is joe. hi joe! hi there! earn a ton of extra hhonors points with the daily grand promotion

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♪ to help you not just stay alive... but feel alive. the c-class is no exception. it's a mercedes-benz, through and through. see your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for exceptional offers through mercedes-benz financial services. welcome back to "early start" everyone. i'm john berman live in boston this morning. we're going to show you a live look of boylston street this morning. that is where the boston marathon finish line was. it's been closed since last week's bombings but this morning for the first time it is open to the public. officials there really trying to

scrub away all signs of the bombing. i had a chance to walk down boylston street a little earlier and take a look. this is the site of the first explosion. the first bomb went off right here at 2:50 p.m. on marathon monday. they're filling it in right now so it's all closed off before the streets really open to the public this morning. let me show you something. look at this building. marathon sports. the fourth floor, all the way up to the fourth floor here, they have windows boarded up. those were shattered by the force of the blast. one other thing i saw on the sidewalk there, and this is before 5:00 a.m., there were already flowers on the street there on the sidewalk on boylston street. but again the good news is right behind me, it is open for business today. and this morning there is another new development, a delegation from the u.s. embassy in moscow arriving in dagestan to attempt to interview parents of the bombing suspect with the cooperation of the russian government.

meantime bombing suspect tamerlan tsarnaev's individual dough says she's doing everything she can to assist with the investigation but it appears agents have only been able to speak to katherine russell's lawyers. chris lawrence has more from the russell home in rhode island. >> reporter: tamerlan tsarnaev's widow hustled out of her parents' rhode island home tuesday. investigators want her help as they piece together the alleged boston bomber's plan. >> the reports of involvement by her husband and brother-in-law came as an absolute shock to them all. >> reporter: her attorney says katherine russell lived with tamerlan in a cramped cambridge apartment. as authorities try to determine when and where he may have assembled the bombs, investigators want to find out what, if anything, she knows. >> she is doing everything she can to assist in the ongoing investigation. >> reporter: russell's attorneys say she didn't know anything. they say she last saw tamerlan before she went to work thursday, before the fbi released this video.

they say she worked as a home health aid while tamerlan stayed home with the couple's young daughter. >> very outgoing. very friendly. very smart. and very talented. >> reporter: that's the katie russell amos trout paine remembers. her high school art teacher says she talked a lot about earning her college degree. are you surprised how her life turned out so far? >> i was surprised to find out that she had dropped out, and i hadn't seen any indication of a particular interest in a lot of religion. >> reporter: russell was raised christian in suburban providence. she moved to boston for college, met tamerlan, and dropped out. attorneys say she converted to islam and was an observant muslim who wore the hijab, or head scarf. sources close to the family say katie russell didn't speak russian and didn't always understand everything that was being said around the apartment. her attorneys have been speaking with federal investigators on her behalf, but they won't say whether she has spoken to

authorities and investigators directly. chris lawrence, cnn, north kingstown, rhode island. >> our thanks to chris lawrence. according to russell's attorney, she and her family are trying to come to terms with everything that happened. they say the injuries and loss of life at the marathon have caused profound distress and sorrow to their family. zoraida? >> thank you, john. 16 minutes past the hour. house republicans releasing a report on the september 11th terror attack on the u.s. mission in benghazi. it claimed former secretary of state hillary clinton personally signed off on cuts to security at the compound, contradicting her testimony before congress. it also says that the white house and state department deliberately altered intelligence community talking points to remove any references to extremists groups linked to al qaeda. democrats also say republicans are sacrificing accuracy in favor of partisanship. and a multimillion dollar settlement for two women injured during the manhunt for ex-cop christopher dorner, that was

back in february. the city of los angeles has agreed to pay the women $4.2 million. they, if you recall, were delivering newspapers when the lapd mistakenly fired on them while they were inside their truck. hernandez was shot twice in the back. coranza was injured by the broken glass. the "l.a. times" says both have been recovered. and the justice department suing lance armstrong in an effort to collect millions of dollars that armstrong was paid through his endorsement contract with the u.s. postal service. that suit claims the disgraced cyclists violated his contract when he admitted using performance enhancing drugs while winning seven tour de france titles. espn reports an attorney for armstrong has dismissed the suit as quote, opportunistic and insincere. and a bill legalizing same-sex marriage is one signature away from becoming the law of the land in france. in a 331-225 vote, the french national assembly tuesday

approved a marriage bill that would also give same-sex couples the right to adopt children. president francois hollande is expected to sign the bill and when he does, france will become the ninth european country to legalize same-sex marriage. and a home runner in san bernardino county, california, has been forced out because of a land slide. a broken water line beneath the house saturated the willside causing the dirt to slide to the bottom of the kill. kabc-tv reports the slide under the home's patio is 40 feet wide and it is ten feet deep, leaving the home in danger of collapsing. and a hacker hits twitter and moves the stock market. more on the tweets and the retreats coming up. we're here! we're going to the park! [ gina ] oh hey, dan!

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welcome back to "early start." it is 21 minutes past the hour. this morning somebody on facebook asked for some happy news. i said maybe christine can deliver. >> i can give you a lot of happy news. stock prices are liar. the market closed higher yesterday. rallies in asia and europe are helping this morning and there's a bullish report from goldman sachs creating some optimism overall. but it follows a big drop in the middle of trading yesterday after that fake tweet. i don't know if you saw this but the dow plunged 145 points after the tweet came out at 1:00 p.m. eastern. it was a tweet where the associated press tweeted that its account was hacked. hackers tweeted about an explosion near the white house. but the dow recovered. sanity prevailed and it closed up 152 points by the closing bell. also watch shares of apple today. that company reaching into its big pile of cash raising its dividends. apple used to be the hottest

stock in town. of course, somed $700 a share last year, it's dropped now 30% over the past 12 months but it's looking higher this morning. so what has happened to people about in the new -- in this recovery? new numbers showing that despite the great recession, the rich getting richer. during the first two years of the recovery the healthiest 7% saw their mean household net worth jump 28%, hitting more than $3 million in 2011. that's the mean household net worth. the rest of us, the lower 93%, their mean household net worth fell. it dropped 4% during a recovery it dropped to $133,000. why? pew researchers say affluent households own more stocks and they have other financial holdings. those investments have been growing. so if you have money, money has been growing. and you've been making more money. at the same time the housing market has remained flat, mostly. that's the biggest investment for many people in the lower 93%. it's another side of an income gap and uneven recovery since

the last recession. if you've got money, if you've got investments, that's been working for you over the past few years. if you don't, you're slipping further behind after the recession. >> i thought that's a really big jump, too. >> it really is. >> what's the one thing we need to know about our money today? >> well, this is day four of air traffic control furloughs. two-hour delays reported at jfk, laguardia, newark here in the new york city area. some of that was blamed on the weather. but the faa warns hart fields jackson, los angeles international, chicago o'hare will also experience longer delays because of the furloughs. it is, you know, your -- >> it affects the bottom line. >> your elected officials at work. now you're going to feel it, pack your patience. >> yep. >> pack your patience at the airport. >> thank you very much, christine. 24 minutes past the hour. proud milestone for the city of boston this morning. just nine days after the marathon bombing boylston street is reopening the public we are happy to report. and we are going to take you there live. the boys used double miles from their capital one venture card

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you are looking at live pictures of boylston street. that is the finish line of the boston marathon. or where it was for the first time since the attacks, open to the public this morning. new information about the suspects. what was behind the attacks?

what was the motivation? new this morning, investigators in russia speaking to the mother and father of the suspects. >> and john, we're expecting new developments today in the alleged plot to blow up a train out of new york. a suspect is due in court just hours from now. welcome back to "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin in new york. >> and i'm john berman live in boston this morning. it is wednesday, april 24th. about half past the hour right now. so great to have you with us. and at this hour, they're trying to meet with the parents of the tsarnaev brothers. they're doing that with the cooperation of the russian government. also a proud mile stone here in boston this morning. it is a live look at boylston street. again, that is the street where the boston marathon finished. that is where the attacks were, about nine days ago. and while you were sleeping, crews worked through the night

to make sure that this street would be open to the public, and again, it is open this morning. which is a lovely, lovely sight. there are some new developments from the suspected bomber who is charged with causing all this bloodshed. dzhokhar tsarnaev's condition has been upgraded from serious to fair and we're hearing he may soon be moved out of the beth deaconess medical center to a different facility. we're going to begin here in the heart of the city which has been given back to its people this morning. cnn's miguel marquez, not far from where i'm standing. he is near boylston street. miguel, looks busy this morning. >> it is back at it. very good news this morning. this is boylston street. this is the memorial. they moved it to copley square at dartmouth and boylston. people coming up and down this way this morning it's amazing to see. especially a lot of runners, which is also nice. here is boylston.

lovely to see it back up and operating. just beyond that bus you can see one set of flashing lights down that way. that's where the finish line is just beyond that is the first bombing site. we do have some pictures from very early this morning, as they were repairing all of the damage done by those bombs. replacing the bricks, replacing the cement. and the glass at this one at the first bombing site may be the most touching of all, it just says boston strong, walking down that way. it is a little eerie. a little awed. and you know, everybody's feeling a little sensitive about it this morning. but it is very, very nice to be back on boylston street. john? >> it is certainly nice. miguel, i saw windows boarded up as high as the fourth floor there. but i also saw flowers laying on the ground there near where they were resurfacing the sidewalk. what were you learning this morning, miguel, about a possible motive in these attacks?

>> we are understanding more from a federal source saying that, you know, mr. tsarnaev is still talking to investigators, is saying that it was the wars in iraq and afghanistan that motivated his brother and he to carry out this bomb plot. they're also saying that there was no communication, there was no radicalization, there was no -- there was no anything with any outside group, that they watched videos online like those from anwar al awlaki, the radical cleric that the u.s. killed in a drone strike in yemen about a year and a half ago. and that they may have used inspire magazine, also, an al qaeda offshoot magazine in english, to learn how to make the bomb. so it sounds like everything is leading investigators to the conclusion that these were sort of self-radicalized individuals. but obviously all of that needs to be confirmed. which they are clearly trying to do around the world right now. john? >> all right, miguel marquez joining us from an open for business boylston street this morning.

great to see you out there, miguel. and in a new development this morning we are learning that tamerlan tsarnaev bought fireworks from a new hampshire dealer back in february. the clerk on duty said nothing, nothing about him seemed suspicious and she remembered him for only one reason. >> pretty much the only thing that was remarkable about him was that he had a russian accent, which we don't get too many people in here who have russian accents. >> tsarnaev bought two lock and loads, those are large reloadable mortar kits that contain a firing tube and about 24 fireworks shells. a store official says if he was trying to break down the product to get the black powder he would not have been able to get very much. after the marathon bombing the company alerted the fbi that tsarnaev had been in the store. let's bring in congressman bennee thompson, a democrat from the state of mississippi. he is a member of the house homeland security committee. he was briefed yesterday by the fbi on the boston marathon bombings. good morning, congressman. thank you so much for joining us. let me start off by asking if

there's anything you can tell us about those briefings. >> well, i think pretty much you've been reporting what was said in the briefings. as you know, we are continuing to look at whether or not there was some international connection to the bombing. we have basically been shown information that they are still looking at this point. there does not appear to be any. however it's a work in progress. >> one of the things we're hearing is that it's possible, investigators are saying, is that they were inspired, literally, by this "inspire" magazine which is an english language publication or online publication from al qaeda in the arabian peninsula. are you getting any information on that? >> well, i think that's pretty much the truth. the "inspire" magazine has always been out here. it's targeted members of congress and other things that

give notice of how you can make bombs. all those things. so, if someone wants to self-radicalize themself, that is one of the things we've been told they use. >> congressman some of the reports that we're getting in speaking with family members, cousins, uncles, of these two suspects, some people are suggesting that tamerlan tsarnaev was radicalized by someone named mischa, often referred to as an armenian muslim, that somehow he helped brainwash tamerlan. are you getting any information on this figure? >> well, at this point we have not been told by any official source about that. we read things in the media. but as of our briefing yesterday, and what i've been available to, i've not seen any of that. >> what's your opinion of how the fbi has handled the tsarnaevs, particularly tamerlan tsarnaev, since back in 2011?

of course we now know that at the request of the russian intelligence agency the fbi did interview tamerlan tsarnaev. are you satisfied with the answers they're giving you about why they essentially walked away from him after 2011? >> well, first of all, i think those individuals who are critical of the fbi, they were wrong. i would compliment them on a job well done. they've done a thorough investigation. they've worked with state and local under tremendous pressure. what we are going to do as members of congress, from an oversight standpoint, we'll see whether or not they have some tweaking we can do with the system so that the mistakes, visas, the passports, those kind of things, that we can tighten that system up. but it's going to require resources to get it done. so, if this congress is committed to providing resources, whatever misstep occurred, i'm certain we can fix

it. >> all right, congressman bennie thompson of mississippi, thank you so much for joining us this morning. we appreciate your time, sir. zoraida? >> thank you very much, john. 36 minutes past the hour. canada, new developments this morning in the alleged terrorist blot to attack a passenger train running between new york and toronto. canadian authorities claim al qaeda is behind it. two suspects are being held without bail, one is due in court in just a few hours from now. his alleged accomplice had a hearing yesterday. cnn's ted rowlands is following this story for us. he is live in toronto. what can you tell us about the suspect appearing today? >> chi hab esseghaier is a 30-year-old ph.d. student who was operating out of montreal. he was brought here to toronto yesterday. he'll make an initial court appearance here. a relatively short one. it is technically a bail hearing. however the judge will just move it up to a different court level, because this judge, given the charges being so serious, can't rule on potential bail in

this case. as you mentioned, his alleged accomplice went through the same procedure here in toronto yesterday, and his family was in the courtroom by his side supporting him. you want to try to relay to people? the mother and other family members of suspected terrorist raed jaser had no comment leaving a downtown toronto courthouse yesterday. jaser remains in custody for allegedly planning an al qaeda supported train attack with this man, 30-year-old chiheb esseghaier. according to multiple government sources the suspected terrorists were planning to use explosives to derail a new york to toronto passenger train. jaser's lawyer john norris says his client will plead not guilty. he also questions the timing of the arrest. >> they've been very clear that there was no risk to public safety, and it's surprising, to say the least, that this arrest would be made now, close on the heels of the events in boston. >> reporter: investigators say boston had nothing to do with these arrests, that, instead, they were a culmination of

months of surveillance. >> we do have our idiots in the community. >> reporter: mohammed robert heft works as a liaison between authorities and the muslim community. he thinks the government probably has a strong case. he says three years ago raed jaser's father rented an apartment from him and told him he was worried that his son was taking on too ridged an interpretation of islam. heft says he didn't think it was enough to report to authorities at the time, but, says he's pleased that a local imam's tip did spark this investigation. >> are you going to let them, god forbid, do something like what happened in boston? are you going to be the first line of defense like we are, and calling it in to the proper authorities? >> and, zoraida, canadian authorities are standing by their assertation that these two alleged suspects were getting guidance from al qaeda elements base in iran. there was a big pushback from iran yesterday saying that there's no way that al qaeda could be operating within our

borders. however, authorities here in canada are standing by their story saying they have the evidence to prove it. >> all right. ted rowlands reporting live for us. thank you very much. and coming up, severe flooding in the midwest that turns deadly, claiming at least four lives. and now the situation for them could get worse. we have a live report from st. louis coming up next. #%tia[

welcome back to "early start." christine romans joins us with a look at what is ahead on "starting point." >> good morning again. ahead on "starting point" we're learning more about why the boston bombing suspects allegedly pulled off those bombings and how they became radicalized. we're going to look where the

case against dzhokhar tsarnaev now stands with former u.s. attorney general alberto gonzalez and former cia ambassador james woolsey. then a public memorial set today for m.i.t. officer sean collier. we'll talk with the m.i.t. and cambridge police chiefs about the fallen officer and what they want people to remember about him. plus the man accused of sending a ricin laced letter to president obama and other officials, there he is, he's been set free. where the investigation into those poison letters is now leading police. but again, they've let him go. he no is no longer a suspect. >> they do have somebody that they are that they think may be behind this so we'll learn more possibly on "starting point." thank you, christine. and happening now, dangerous flooding turns deadly in the nation's midsection. swollen rivers are already to blame for four deaths in that area, and governor jay nixon declaring a state of emergency in missouri after flash flooding drenched many parts of the state. cnn's jim spellman is live in st. louis for us this morning.

jim, paint the picture for us. it's pretty dire out there. >> take a look, this is st. louis. we're just below or just north of the famous gateway arch. this is sort of a boat terminal here. usually not under water. today under about five feet of water above flood stage. you can see how high this water has come up. similar circumstances here on the mississippi river. especially in these lower riverside communities. yesterday we were on another river, the illinois river, where we saw several of these low-lying communities just inundated with water. now we think it's cresting here today in st. louis. and that will be similar story in this part of the river system in the next day or two. cresting and then the slow process of the water receding. up north, in fargo, north dakota, it's a different story. warm temperatures there, it's going to cause accelerated snow melt. they're laying in sandbags and preparing for the worst up there in fargo. so even as it crests down here, this spring storm, and climate session that we've been in is

long from over, zoraida. >> still wreaking havoc. how does the current flooding compare to other years? >> well, take a look. this is about 35 feet of water. flood stage is about 30 feet. the mississippi river here in st. louis normally at about 15 feet. last year, during the drought, it got as low as three feet. incredible change from three feet to 35 feet in less than a year. just shocking to see how fast it can change. >> all right. jim spellman reporting live for us. thank you. 46 minutes past the hour. coming up next, the feds versus lance armstrong. the government trying to get back the $40 million that it paid the tarnished cycling legend. you're watching "early start."

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welcome back, everyone, i'm john berman, live in boston this morning. veterans who lost their limbs fighting in iraq and afghanistan are offering some inspiration to the victims of the boston marathon bombings. celeste corkeren lost both her legs when the bomb exploded. veteran ramirez also a double amputee paid her and her 18-year-old daughter sydney with a message of hope. >> this is basically just a start. this is a new beginning for both of you. >> i can't do anything right now. >> right now, yes wp but i'm telling you, in, you know, with all my heart you are going to be more independent, you know, than you ever were. >> celeste is keeping her spirits high, she's even talking about running the boston marathon next year.

that would be wonderful to see. if you'd like to help the survivors of the boston terror attacks just go to cnn.com/impact. there are all kinds of direct links for ways to help, including several victim's personal fund pages that you can make donations to. zoraida? >> that's really inspiring that the wounded veterans are doing that. 51 minutes past the hour. alan gendreau was a star kicker in college. now he wants a shot at the nfl. if he makes the team he would be the first openly gay player in nfl history. that story kicks off today's "bleacher report." joe carter, what are your chances? >> well, zoraida, his chances are slim. and that's because he's a free agent. so, his odds are making an nfl roster this fall, sort of a long shot. but of course that's not stopping him from trying to become the first openly gay player in america's most popular now. now gendreau came out when he was a teenager, years ago, and then he became a star kicker at middle tennessee state and some

draft experts say he could have actually been drafted last year, if not for a disappointing senior season in middle tennessee. now he's a free agent, as i said. but he's going to have to wait until after this week's nfl draft before he knows if a team actually wants to bring him in for a tryout. in other news the united states government is suing lance armstrong for the sponsorship money he was paid when he raced for the postal service team. armstrong made over $17 million during the six years he was with the team. the government is hoping to reclaim three times that amount. now the lawsuit claims he violated his contract when he admitted to using performance enhancing drugs. armstrong's attorney says the six-year statute of limitations should void most of the lawsuit. check this video out. you are reading that number right. it was 23 degrees at coors field yesterday. the coldest game in colorado rockies history. fans had to bundle up in snow

gear, hot chocolate was the drink of choice. it's the second time in two weeks that denver has been pounded by an april snowstorm. they had to play a doubleheader yesterday to make up for monday's postponement. and the kicker, the braves actually won both of those games. and finally, georgia line backer jarvis jones hasn't taken a single snap in the nfl but already has his own bust. now this bust is actually made of cold cuts. it's a human sandwich statue. now subway made this for him as part of a promotion. he unveiled this bust in new york city. he's there for the nfl draft. the life-like sandwich stands nearly three feet tall, and the hair, by the way, is made of raisins and they had to use more than 10 pounds of chicken to make that bad boy. now subway, zoraida, is making this sort of a yearly tradition. they made one for t.j. stiller, mark ingraham and most recently rg3. that's, of course, a

weird-looking sandwich that you've got to cut into. but quite an honor for him. >> no, it certainly is. i just wonder if he ate any. >> they didn't show any video of anybody cutting into it. i'm curious if it was left out very long. i don't know how good it would be to eat. >> joe carter, thank you. so what would you do if you found a bag full of money, $36,000 to be exact, and no one to claim it? that is what happened to rachel castillo. she found the bag, stuffed with cash, on a bench at a miami beach golf course, where she works. also inside the bag, an i.d. card. so what did rachel do? she contacted police, who traced it back to an elderly man in a nursing home. the money was nearly equal to a full year's salary for rachel. but she said she was always taught not to steal. listen to this, folks, there was no reward for her good deed. i say we take up a collection for rachel. and if you're just waking up, a big milestone for the city of boston.

just a few hours ago, take a look at this, the public now taking back the marathon finish line. we have live coverage next on "starting point." "early start" back after this. c. [ female announcer ] roc® retinol correxion max. the power of roc® retinol is intensified with a serum. it's proven to be 4x better at smoothing lines and deep wrinkles than professional treatments. roc® max for maximum results.

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58 minutes past the hour. welcome back to "early start." a boston police officer showed what it really means to serve and protect. look at him look at his hands, he delivered milk to a watertown family that desperately needed it for their 17-month-old son. the family snapped the picture of 9 officer, then they posted it on facebook. it has since gone viral having been shared on facebook and twitter some 10,000 times. kudos to him and all of those officers, and first responders who just worked so hard. how sweet is that? that's what we're going to end on today. that is "early start." i'm zoraida sambolin. john berman continues our

coverage live in boston with "starting point" right now. good morning, everyone, i'm john berman live in boston. and this morning, boston is bustling. boylston street right behind me is open again for the first time since the marathon bombing ten days ago. it was a crime scene. now this morning for the first time open for business. our "starting point" this morning is new information about why the accused boston bombing suspect attacked the city, and whether or not they had any outside help. this morning, u.s. delegation heading to dagestan to gather more information. and this morning we're getting the first pictures of the actual bombing site as the city worked all night to repair the sidewalk there. plus he's the hero who discovered suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev hiding in his boat. for the first time the boat owner describes